Adenosine triphosphate pool levels and endogenous metabolism in Arthrobacter crystallopoietes during growth and starvation.

The adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content of Arthrobacter crystallopoietes was measured during growth, starvation and recovery from starvation. During exponential growth of the cells as spheres in a glucose slats medium, the level of ATP per cell remained constant at 8.0 x 10(-10) micrograms/cell. Morphogenesis to rodshaped cells and an increased growth rate following addition of casein hydrolysate was accompanied by an almost two-fold increase in the ATP level. As division of the rod-shaped cells proceeded, the level of ATP declined. After growing as rods for 12-14 h the cells underwent fragmentation to spheres during which time the ATP level again increased to the original value of 8.0 x 10(-10) micrograms/cell. As the spherical cells resumed growth on the residual glucose, their ATP content declined for a short period and then remained relatively constant. During starvation of sphere or rod-shaped cells for one week, the ATP level declined by approximately 70% during the first 40-50 h and then remained constant. The endogenous metabolism rate of spherical cells declined during the first 10-20 h of starvation and then remained constant at approximately 0.02% of the cell carbon being utilized per h. Addition of glucose to spherical cells which had been starved for one week increased both the ATP content per cell and their rate of endogenous metabolism. The ATP content fluctuated and then remained at a level higher than maintained during starvation while endogenous metabolism quickly declined.